Mather, Flora Stone, College District
Also known as: College for Women; Western Reserve University
Why it's listed
This district on Bellflower Road at Ford Drive in Cleveland contains five buildings put up between 1891 and 1912 for the College for Women of Western Reserve University. Clark Hall, a Queen Anne variant, was designed by Richard M. Hunt and dedicated in 1892 along with Guilford Cottage, by Coburn and Barnum. Charles F. Schweinfurth designed Harkness Memorial Chapel and Haydn Hall in 1901-1902, and later the Flora Stone Mather Memorial of 1910-1912, which received an addition in 1930-1931 by Charles Hopkinson. The buildings face a shared green and have Gothic or late medieval English elements, giving them a visual unity rare on a campus shaped by continuous expansion. The College for Women opened in 1888 after a four-year controversy over coeducation and was the fifth separate women's college in the United States. In 1931 it was renamed for Flora Stone Mather, its chief benefactor. The buildings remain in educational use.
Significance in brief: The five buildings and their green form a historic and architectural unity that is unique on the Case Western Reserve campus, which is otherwise marked by continuous expansion and crowded space. Four of the buildings are architecturally distinguished, and Guilford Hall completes the quadrangle. The group also represents the early College for Women, the fifth separate women's college in the United States.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 74001442, listed February 15, 1974. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Bellflower Rd. at Ford Dr., Cleveland |
|---|---|
| County | Cuyahoga County |
| Listed | February 15, 1974 |
| Reference number | 74001442 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1891-1912 |
| Architect / builder | Richard M. Hunt (Clark Hall); Coburn and Barnum (Guilford Cottage); Charles F. Schweinfurth (Harkness Chapel, Haydn Hall, Mather Memorial); Charles Hopkinson (1930 addition to Mather Memorial) |
| Architectural style | Jacobethan, Late Gothic Revival, and Queen Anne variants |
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rated excellent condition and occupied; owned by Case Western Reserve University and used for education. Haydn Hall's interior has suffered from lack of adequate maintenance. |
| Acreage | 3.6 |
| Coordinates | 41.50897, -81.60749 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 74001442.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5460357
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.